TORONTO -- Canadians stuck abroad, trapped under strict foreign border closures, say they have received no consular assistance or information about repatriation despite 鈥渂egging鈥 the government for help.
鈥淪ome of us are running out of medication鈥 [we have] two little children waiting at home,鈥 Masha Andreeva, a Canadian trapped in Lima, Peru, told 麻豆影视.
Andreeva is one of hundreds of Canadians stuck in Peru after the country issued a nationwide state of emergency on March 15. The sweeping restrictions prevent people from travelling in or out of the country, and impose a strict curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.
More than 500 Canadians have since joined a Facebook group called 鈥淐anadians Stuck in Peru,鈥 where they exchange information about the lockdown.
鈥淭here are police and military vehicles in the streets right now, it鈥檚 insanity,鈥 Andreeva said.
Other stranded Canadian travellers have reported similar experiences, citing poor communication and a lack of consular assistance.
Laura Nikhamki says her 12- and 16-year-old children are part of a larger Toronto-area judo team stranded in eastern Ukraine.
鈥淲e are begging for something to be done immediately,鈥 Nikhamki told 麻豆影视.
鈥淚t could be four weeks, eight weeks鈥 we don鈥檛 know anything and that鈥檚 so scary.鈥
McGill University professor Anthony Williams-Jones, travelling in Morocco with five students, told 麻豆影视 they were 鈥渓eft to their own devices鈥 after speaking to the Canadian embassy.
A petition started by Williams-Jones calling on the government to mobilize 鈥渨hatever means possible鈥 to repatriate Canadians has since received more than 14,000 signatures.
鈥淲hile we welcome the recommendations of the Federal and provincial governments that are encouraging Canadians to come home, we deplore the fact that our fellow citizens are being left to their own devices,鈥 reads the petition.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday that consular support is being provided to people in Peru and Morocco, echoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 sentiment that the government is 鈥渨orking urgently鈥 to help Canadians get home.
However, Trudeau previously acknowledged that it could take weeks for some Canadians to return home.
The federal government has also offered financial assistance for Canadian travellers, offering emergency loans of up to $5,000 to help them come back home, which many note isn鈥檛 helpful for Canadians stuck overseas if there are no flights leaving the country.
